Suhr shatters world record

New York, March 4, 2013, Reuters: 23:45 IST

American clears 5.02 metres

Olympic champion Jenn Suhr lit up the US indoor athletics championships on Saturday by leaping 5.02 meters to set a new women's pole vault world record, while throwing down the gauntlet to Russian great Yelena Isinbayeva.

The 31-year-old American's stunning vault in Albuquerque, New Mexico, eclipsed Isinbayeva's indoor mark of 5.01 metres set in 2012 and is sure to heat up their rivalry ahead of August's outdoor world championships in Moscow.

"I was in a groove tonight," Suhr, who set the mark on her first attempt at the height, told reporters. "I knew some big things could happen, I just need to be healthy and come down the runway."I'm glad that I got 5 meters out of the way, (with the) 5.02, because it is a mental barrier."Suhr, who denied Isinbayeva a hat-trick of Olympic golds at the London Games, made three unsuccessful attempts at 5.07M.

Isinbayeva holds the outdoor world record of 5.06 metres.

She was runnerup when Isinbayeva set a world record to win gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but turned the tables in London as the Russian struggled to a disappointing bronze. Until her unsuccessful bid for 5.07M, Suhr had not missed a single attempt on Saturday, clearing her first height at 4.65M, and again at 4.70M and 4.75M. She soared over the bar at 4.80M and upped the ante to 4.90M, smashing her previous indoor best before her record-breaking vault.